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War On Drugs Essay

487 Words2 Pages

What do Papaver somniferum, Erythroxylum coca, and Psilocybe cubensis all have in common? They’re all naturally occurring plants that are illegal in the United States of America. These plants are also referred to as opium, cocaine, and shrooms, also categorized as drugs - substances that alter your state of mind upon ingestion. The War on Drugs, a government led initiative formally created during the Nixon Administration (1969-1974) attempted to control the sale and consumption of such substances. In a 1971 speech, President Nixon claimed that drug abuse was, "public enemy number one", and he emphasized treatment for addicts (Head). However, what may have seemed to be an honest attempt to help the American people, ended up hurting the citizens …show more content…

To prohibit more addiction affecting their country, China outlawed opium importation and cultivation. These transgressions were the catalysts to the opium wars, along with the much needed relocation of suffering Chinese to America, to find salvation in the exciting California Gold Rush. With them, they brought their opium addictions, and opened opium dens in which the substance was purchased, sold and smoked. The first act of limiting drug supply was in San Francisco in 1875, “where smoking opium only in opium dens became illegal” (The National Alliance of Advocates for Buprenorphine Treatment). This initial congressional act was quite significant because it launched the underlying theme of racism throughout the War on Drugs; only the Chinese and their opium dens were targeted. This racism followed with the Chinese Exclusion Act being passed in 1882; the American people were not only afraid that Chinese importation of opium would lead to prostitution, but that the immigrants were taking all of the white American citizens’ jobs (Heroin, Morphine, and

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Pros And Cons Of The Harrison Act Of 1914

378 Words | 2 Pages

Notwithstanding, physicians stop dispensing prescription drugs not protected under the Harrison Act, in order to circumvent prosecution. Consequently, in a de facto way opiates and cocaine were made illegal. Conversely, practically overnight a new class of criminal was created. The Boggs Act of 1951: Combined increase penalties of previously enacted marijuana and narcotics laws.

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Opium Trade Dbq

268 Words | 2 Pages

Struggling to maintain social order and strength, the Qing Dynasty placed restrictions on opium trade; however, this backfired, provoking retaliation from British traders and leading to a war that would create the Unequal Treaties. The detrimental socio economic effects opium had on China were beginning to surface during the late 1830’s, causing an influx of smokers and a decline in bullion. Although China’s economy suffered, this was the most viable foreign trade option for the British. There was low demand for the cotton the British offered to China, but the increased profits from opium would do more than compensate. Thus, British merchants took various measures to circumvent China’s policies to stop the illicit trade and managed to find

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Pros And Cons Of The Harrison Act Of 1914

1099 Words | 5 Pages

Ultimately, problems from the use of drugs caused Congress to get involved, even when the states discouraged their involvement. Multitudes of laws have been enacted to combat the drug problem in the United States. By the second decade of the twentieth century, calls for expanded drug regulation were prompted in part due to a growing prejudice against minority groups in America that were involved in drug abuse. The Harrison Act of 1914 can be traced back to an issue with the foreign trade. In addition, many Americans disliked the Chinese and their habit of smoking opium, simultaneously, the United States government wanted to open up trade with China.

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Analysis Of Opium And China Revisited By Joshua Fogel

723 Words | 3 Pages

In this in-depth article, Joshua Fogel discusses the details and importance of opium in China. Published in 2006, “Opium and China Revisited: How Sophisticated Was Qing Thinking in Matters of Drug Control?” takes us back to the nineteenth century and China's relationship with the outside world during the Mao years. Fogel begins by highlighting the significance of the Chinese government and nationalism in China during the 19th and 20th centuries. This then leads to talk of the opium in China and other area of Eurasia including Britain and Japan. Finally, Fogel succeeds in analyzing the studies done by other scholars, but fails to bring any new evidence or arguments in his work.

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How Did The Opium War Affect America

615 Words | 3 Pages

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Notaries Truth And The Consequences By Kathryn Burns

1665 Words | 7 Pages

What we interpret from the text is that the law has little to do with the dangers associated with illicit (opium) drug usage? Additionally, people use other drugs, alcohol and tobacco (that are a hazard to health too), both privately and publicly are legal. In fact, creating 1908 anti-drug law is a fight between cultures- Chinese and white traders, it is all about economic crises, racism, resolving labor conflicts, satisfying federal government and, pleasing white traders. Most important of all, health issues does not play the significant role in the creation of the 1908 anti-drug law as it does in the present time. The nature of the statute law starts with the ferocity that took place on September 7, 1907.

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Rockefeller Drug Act Of 1914 Essay

418 Words | 2 Pages

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1057 Words | 5 Pages

The Chinese had already known about the existence of opium, but did not start smoking it until the habit of snaking tobacco in the Americas spread to China creating addictions that fueled the opium trade and infiltrated imperial troops (www.britannica.com). The current Chinese ruler at the time did try to restrained and limit the trade of the drug, but since the balance of trade for Europe, especially England, had shifted dramatically in their favor (since they became a great fan of silk, porcelain, and tea from China) they were not about to lose their valuable opium trade business (www.britannica.com ). England could not help, but engage in two opium wars with China (the former coming out as victor in both wars), the first led to a pause in prohibiting the drug and the second extinguished the idea of possibly banning it altogether because of that it took many years to pass before India and China came to an agreement to try to stop the sell of opium and even more for people's addictions to disappear (www.britannica.com ). Unfortunately, for China this caused a decline in the economy since the balance shifted from China exporting more than importing to the other way around, it also affected many of the Chinese inhabitants since many of them grew addicted to opium and like any other drug, it took its toll on the person and China's population. Europe, on the other

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Ronald Reagan War On Drugs Essay

1015 Words | 5 Pages

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What Role Did The First Opium Wars Play In American Imperialism

995 Words | 4 Pages

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879 Words | 4 Pages

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330 Words | 2 Pages

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552 Words | 3 Pages

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779 Words | 4 Pages

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1532 Words | 7 Pages

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